World Champion Viswanathan Anand was held to a draw by tournament leader Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the seventh round of the Grenke Chess Classic in Baden-Baden (Germany).

The 41-year old Dutchman has worked with some of the best tacticians in the business like Guus Hiddink, Dick Advocaat and Frank Rijkaard, tasting success at both international and club level.

World champion Viswanathan Anand played out his third draw on the trot, forced to sign peace with lowest-ranked Georg Meier of Germany in the third round of the Grenke Chess Classic

Barcelona had positive news on the injury front on Monday when David Villa returned to training and fellow forward Isaac Cuenca was declared fit after more than seven months out with a knee injury.

Leaders Barcelona kept up their relentless pace at the top of La Liga with a 4-0 thrashing of city rivals Espanyol and 10-man Real Madrid needed two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo to see off Real Sociedad 4-3 on Sunday.

Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has suffered a relapse on the cancer in his saliva glands, Spanish daily El Pais reported on Wednesday citing sources at the club.

Leaders Barcelona and second-placed Atletico Madrid took full advantage of Real Madrid's stumble on Sunday, Barca winning 4-0 at Levante and Atletico thumping visiting Sevilla by the same scoreline at the Calderon.

Lionel Messi fired Barcelona into the last 16 of the Champions League with two goals in their 3-0 victory at Spartak Moscow on Tuesday but holders Chelsea are walking a tightrope after a crushing defeat by Juventus.

Rather like tennis's serial record breaker Roger Federer, Barcelona striker Lionel Messi cannot seem to finish a soccer match without ticking off another milestone.

Lionel Messi fired Barcelona into the last 16 of the Champions League with two goals in their 3-0 victory at Spartak Moscow on Tuesday but holders Chelsea are walking a tightrope after a crushing defeat by Juventus.

Indian Grandmasters Sandipan Chanda and Surya Shekhar Ganguly kept themselves in contention for top honours after drawing with Etienne Bacrot of France and Yuri Kryvoruchko of Ukraine respectively in the seventh round of Fujairah International chess tournament, in Fujaira, UAE, on Tuesday. The Indian duo remained in joint-lead on five points along with the Ukrainian trio of Sergey Fedorchuk, Andrey Sumets and Alexander Moiseenko, Liem Le Quang of Vietnam and Bacrot.

Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly kept himself in contention, drawing with Sergey Fedorchuk of Ukraine in the fifth round of Fujairah International Open chess tournament in Fujairah.

Barcelona wasted their first chance to reach the Champions League last 16 after a surprise defeat by Celtic but Manchester United edged through and six-goal Bayern Munich rocketed closer to progression on Wednesday.

Barcelona's early season form has been on a par with their habitually high standards but as they prepare to visit Celtic in the Champions League there remains a question mark hanging over their makeshift defence.

Lionel Messi dreams of retiring at Barcelona, the club who trained him as a teenager and where he began his professional career in 2004, the Argentine World Player of the Year said on Monday.

The millions of fans around the globe who will tune in to watch Sunday's 'Clasico' in Barcelona could witness the death throes of Real Madrid's La Liga title challenge in their seventh match of the season. Defeat at the Nou Camp for Jose Mourinho's side, who are chasing a second consecutive title after ending Barca's three-year run as champions, would stretch the Catalan club's lead over their bitter rivals to 11 points.

Lionel Messi proved that anything Cristiano Ronaldo can do he can do better when he struck twice for Barcelona to rescue a 3-2 comeback win for the favourites at home to Spartak Moscow in their Champions League Group G opener on Wednesday.

Real Madrid claimed their first Spanish Super Cup in four years and a morale-boosting success against their arch-rivals when Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo struck in a 2-1 win against 10-man Barcelona on Wednesday.

Arsenal have agreed terms with Barcelona to sell Cameroon international midfielder Alex Song to the Spanish side for 19 million euros ($23.36 million), the Premier League club said on Saturday.

Barcelona have strengthened their defence and found a replacement for Eric Abidal by sealing an agreement with Valencia to sign Spain fullback Jordi Alba on a five-year contract.

Spain's sizeable Barcelona contingent may be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu when they face Ireland on Thursday in their second Group B match at Euro 2012.

Seydou Keita scored a stoppage-time equaliser as 10-man Barcelona drew 2-2 at Real Betis to wrap up Pep Guardiola's last La Liga campaign as coach of the club on Saturday.

Real, who have smashed the La Liga scoring record, clinched their 32nd league crown and their first in four years when Gonzalo Higuain, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo struck in a frenetic 3-0 win at 10-man Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.

Rafa Nadal became the first player in the open era to win two tournaments seven times when he fought off tenacious Spanish compatriot David Ferrer 7-6, 7-5 to win a thrilling Barcelona Open final on Sunday.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has paid an emotional tribute to Pep Guardiola, after he announced leaving the Catalans at the end of the season.

Milos Raonic demonstrated his claycourt credentials with a 6-4, 7-6 win over Andy Murray in the last eight of the Barcelona Open on Friday before top seed Rafa Nadal crushed Janko Tipsarevic 6-2, 6-2 to claim his semi-final place.

Pep Guardiola is expected to take a sabbatical after quitting Barcelona but there are plenty of clubs who would be eager to entice him back to football.

Barcelona's most successful manager Pep Guardiola will walk away from the Catalans at the end of the season and will be replaced by his assistant Tito Vilanova, the club announced on Friday.

Rafa Nadal was less than his dominant best on the clay at the Barcelona Open on Thursday but was still good enough to secure a 6-2, 6-3 win over Colombian wildcard Robert Farah and set up a quarter-final clash against Janko Tipsarevic.

World No 2 Rafael Nadal swept into the third round of the Barcelona Open when he thrashed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-2 as he began his quest for a seventh Conde de Godo trophy in eight years on Wednesday.

Whatever happens in the Champions League final in Munich next month, Chelsea's astonishing 3-2 aggregate win over Barcelona's artisans at the Nou Camp in Tuesday's semi-final will go down as one of the club's greatest achievements.

The Argentine failed to find the net for Barcelona in either leg of the Champions League semi-final, meaning he has now been unable to score against Chelsea in eight outings, by far his worst record against any club.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is in danger of tarnishing his reputation as the man with the Midas touch when the holders seek to overturn a 1-0 deficit against Chelsea in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg at the Nou Camp.

Images from the El Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid played at Camp Nou on Saturday.

Following is a selection of Spanish words and phrases which help explain the intense rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona played out in the El Clasicos

Barcelona's Lionel Messi reached another milestone in his amazing career on Saturday when he became the first player to score 60 goals in a season in European top-flight soccer in almost 40 years.

Soccer's governing body FIFA has ordered clubs to release Under-23 players called up by their national teams for the Olympic Games soccer tournament.

Barcelona's faith in their ability to groom the little lad from Rosario for their first team and transform him into the world's best player has paid off handsomely.

Barcelona defender Eric Abidal is to have a liver transplant, the Spanish and European champions said on Thursday.

Lionel Messi played down his impact at Barcelona on Monday, saying coach Pep Guardiola is more important to the Catalans.